A recent article in FoodDIVE featured the announcement from Coca-Cola that it plans to launch a new carbonated soft drink sweetened with stevia in 2018. Despite unsuccessful attempts to launch stevia-sweetened beverages in the past by the company and others, Coca-Cola believes they have overcome previous drawbacks associated with stevia to woo back former soft drink consumers who have moved to “healthier” beverages.

Demand for garden hoses in the US is forecast to rise 3% per year to $435 million in 2021. Growth will be driven by an improved economy and the development of the higher quality products that are most desired by consumers.

Global demand for forestry equipment is forecast to reach $9.2 billion in 2021 on gains of 4.5% per year, more than four times faster than in the 2011-2016 period. Gains will be driven by the transition from manual to mechanical logging solutions in the developing economies of the Africa/Mideast and Asia/Pacific regions and Latin America, as well as the rise of logging methods, such as cut-to-length, that require more sophisticated (and expensive) forestry equipment in industrialized nations like Canada and Finland.

Demand for consumer water treatment systems in the US is expected to increase 4.4% annually to $1.6 billion in 2021. The integration of advanced technologies such as smartphone apps that allow consumers to monitor their systems anywhere Wi-Fi is available will support value gains going forward, as will raised consumer awareness of water quality problems such as the lead crisis in Flint, Michigan.

Demand for hardscape products in the US is expected to increase 5.6% per year to $3.5 billion in 2021. Despite slow growth in sales of existing homes, an indicator of home remodeling trends including landscaping, sales of hardscape products such as boulders, edging, and pavers will see robust growth through 2021, buoyed by strong growth in new housing construction, which will support new hardscaping installations when homes are first built.

Global demand for I&I cleaning chemicals used in disinfectants and sanitizers is forecast to rise 6% per year to $6.6 billion in 2021. In nearly every country, healthcare applications of I&I disinfectants and sanitizers will register above average growth, as healthcare facilities are intensive users.

North America will post the fastest gains in new housing construction of any global region. The 4% annual growth projected for new housing units in North America through 2021 will be driven by above average household formation in Mexico as well as strong construction activity in the US.

Worldwide demand for 3D printers is projected to expand at a 24% annual pace to $5.4 billion in 2021. Demand for printers on a region-by-region basis largely follows the overall 3D printing market.

Global demand for vinyl flooring is forecast to rise 4.4% per year to 3.0 billion square meters in 2021, exceeding the global flooring average pace. The increasing popularity of luxury vinyl tile will continue to bolster demand, spurring growth even in mature markets such as the US and Western Europe.

Global demand for caps and closures in beverage applications is projected to increase 3.5% annually to 1.5 trillion units in 2021. Among the most significant factors affecting the beverage industry overall is the shift in consumer preferences toward beverages that are healthy and convenient, with bottled water the primary beneficiary in volume terms.